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Character Appreciation: Tina Belcher of “Bob’s Burgers”

A couple weeks back, I asserted that either Archer or Bob’s Burgers was the best animated comedy currently on TV. I stick by that assertion. However, I don’t quite think it’s fair that Archer gets a Character Appreciation post via Pam, while Bob is left with nothing.

In an effort to make everything equal, I figured I’d send some love to the Belcher family – but who should I choose? Broadway belter Linda? Lovable curmudgeon Bob? Flatulence prodigy Gene? Louise? No, no – this is definitely a job for the most unassuming family member. You know the one – glasses, boy voice (seriously, the character was originally a boy, and when they changed her gender, the voice stayed the same): Tina Belcher.

Let’s do this shizit.

T is for Turbulent

Tina has not and will never have a good driving record. Based on what happened the first time she got behind the wheel, things are just going to go downhill.

When Bob sees a near empty parking lot, he decides it’s time for Tina to get some driving experience. Wracked with fear, Tina manages to crash into the only other car parked in the lot – at a whopping three miles an hour.

She does this because she’s full of anxiety, and it doesn’t stop with driving; just about anything terrifies her. Take, for example, the time she accidentally burned down someone’s house because she felt guilty for lying to them and got all jittery next to a grill. Yup, that happened.

I is for Inquisitive

For the longest time, Tina’s investigative interests were kept under wraps. Sure, her hormones tended to give some stuff away – like her crushes and weird zombie kissing fetish – but overall we never really knew what she liked to do in her free time (Okay, that’s a lie – there was some erotic “friend fiction.”)

This changed when she joined the school’s journalism TV channel. She made it her mission to unmask the “Mad Pooper,” a nefarious figure who left feces in various locations around the school. Her refusal to give up was pretty awesome (even though the stakes were minimal).

N is for “Not Quite There”

None of the Belcher children can be accused of being normal. However, Tina takes that to a whole different level. While Gene and Louise have their quirks (Gene loves his keyboard fart noises and Louise is semi-homicidal) Tina is a tiny bit slow-thinking, gullible, and monotoned. Her voice is scary deep and even when she exclaims something with glee, it sounds like she’s moping.

A is for Ass

It’s no secret that Tina likes a bit of junk in the trunk. While just about any boy will make her pant and wheeze (?) with lust, her Romeo and Juliet-style romance with the Jimmy Pesto, Jr. across the street takes center. It’s joined on stage by Jimmy’s Jr.’s ass-shaking dance moves, which she can’t get enough of.

Many a comedic moment has been born from Tina’s joy – and it showcases the creepy levels she’ll go to for love.